POS1120 ASSOCIATION OF ADIPOKINES WITH SEVERITY OF KNEE OSTEOARTHRITIS ASSESSED CLINICALLY AND ON MAGNETIC RESONANCE IMAGING
Authors: T. Chong, J. R. Tan, C. MA, S. B. S. Wong, Y. Y. Leung
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2022)

Background Adipokines secreted by adipose tissue create a low grade systemic inflammatory state that could contribute to the pathogenesis of knee OA (KOA). Previous studies of association between adipokines and radiographic KOA represented late-stage disease shown as bony changes. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) has the advantage of showing early changes of KOA in all joint structures. Objectives We aimed to evaluate the association between the adipokines: Leptin, Adiponectin, Resistin, and hs-CRP with clinical, radiographical and MRI assessment of KOA severity. Methods We performed a cross-sectional study in participants with early KOA. Demographics, clinical (WOMAC), and MRI (BLOKS scoring) KOA severity were assessed. Serum leptin, adipokines, resistin and hs-CRP were measured. Association of adipokines with clinical and MRI severity outcomes were evaluated using regression models with adjustment with age, sex, and body mass index (BMI). Results 139 participants with early KOA (82% women, mean ± SD age: 55.5 ± 7.8 years) were included. Participants had moderate KOA symptoms, mean WOMAC pain and function were 31.1 ± 18.4, and 32.0 ± 19.9 respectively. Mean BMI was 26.0 ± 5.9 kg/m 2 . After adjustment with age, sex and BMI, Leptin (p=0.001) and hs-CRP (p=0.03) were positively associated, while adiponectin (p=0.02) and resistin (p=0.03) were negatively associated with osteophyte size (Table 1). In addition, leptin was statistically significantly associated with cartilage loss, synovitis, and effusion, while hs-CRP was associated with meniscus extrusion. As for WOMAC assessed severity, only adiponectin was statistical significantly associated with WOMAC function. Table 1. Association of adipokines with MRI features and clinical symptoms, adjusted with age, sex and BMI KOA severity β (95% confidence intervals) leptin Adiponectin Resistin hs-CRP OST Size 1.11 (0.5, 1.7)** -1.86 (-3.53, -0.18)* -2.12 (-3.95, -0.30)* 0.17 (0.02, 0.31)* % Cart Loss 0.37 (0.04, 0.71)* -0.45 (-1.32, 0.42) -0.72 (-1.67, 0.23) 0.02 (-0.06, 0.10) BML Size 0.24 (-0.02,0.50) -0.03 (-0.70,0.65) -0.15 (-0.92,0.56) 0.02 (-0.04, 0.08) Synovitis 0.24 (0.08, 0.40)** -0.21 (-0.63, 0.22) -0.33 (-0.79, 0.13) 0.03 (-0.01, 0.07) Effusion 0.21 (0.07, 0.35)** -0.25 (-0.62, 0.12) -0.09 (-0.49, 0.32) 0.02 (-0.02, 0.05) Meniscus Extrusion 0.09 (-0.06, 0.24) 0.01 (-0.39, 0.40) -0.08 (-0.51, 0.35) 0.04 (0.00, 0.07)* WOMAC pain 1.72 (-1.45, 4.89) 7.07 (-0.98, 15.1) -2.61 (-11.4, 6.14) 0.04 (-0.68, 0.76) WOMAC function 0.01 (-3.34,3.35) 13.2 (5.0, 21.5)** -0.07 (-9.26, 9.12) -0.22 (-0.97, 0.54) *p&lt;0.05, **p&lt;0.01, Bold: statistically significant. Conclusion Adipokines, particularly leptin was associated with severity of various structural defects of the knee joint beyond age, sex and BMI in early KOA. MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging; %: percentage; BML: Bone Marrow Lesion; Cart: Cartilage; OST: Osteophyte; KL: Kellgren and Lawrence grading; WOMAC: Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index. Acknowledgements This study is funded by the National Medical Research Council of Singapore (NMRC Disclosure of Interests Timothy Chong: None declared, Jin-Rong Tan: None declared, Cheryl Ma: None declared, Steven Bak-Siew Wong: None declared, Ying Ying Leung Speakers bureau: Honorarium from Abbvie, DKSH, Janssen, Novartis and Pfizer.